Fighting Riche Coughlan watched his PGA Tour dreams dashed and revealed: I felt like throwing in the towel.

The 28 year old Birr battler has been plagued with bad luck since he cracked his ribs last year.

First he hurt his back in a serious car smash at Christmas and then he was laid low by a vertebrae injury caused by too much practice.

Coughlan lost his card last year but got a minor medical exemption which gave him with five tournaments to earn the $326,130 was short.

But bad luck and injuries caused him to consider giving up the game instead.

"I just couldn't swing at all. I felt like an old man," he said. "The chiropractor cracked my back into place so that I could tee it up but it was no good.

"I just went to pot for a while and got down on myself. Putts weren't going it, balls were spinning off greens. For a while I said to myself: 'Screw this game.'"

But now Coughlan is back on track that's to a serious training regime and the help of a Californian golf psychologist.

The problem is that he is struggling to make ends meet after a season to forget.

A paltry $13,955 on the main tour and $9,975 from one cheque on the Buy.com circuit is not nearly enough to meet the ¤2,000 a week out of pocket expenses.

With only his nest egg and a grant of ¤15,000 from the Irish Sports Council to fall back on, times have been hard.

"I'm not as depressed as I was earlier in the year when I lost confidence in my own ability," revealed Coughlan.

"My 'head man' as I call my psychologist, has been very good for me. But you can't help getting frustrated sometimes when you go out and practice hard on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and you don't get the results on Thursday.

"I just believe my day will come. No matter how long it takes I'll just keep hacking away at it."

Coughlan lost his card last year but got a minor medical exemption which left him with five tournaments to earn $326,130 ­ a figure that would equal what the 125th player earned to save his card in 2001.

In his third event, the Honda Classic, he missed the cut by one when a late finisher eliminated all the players on three under par.

"That really gutted me. I had two holes to finish on the Saturday morning ­ eight and nine ­ and lipped out each time for birdie. I finished on three under and then this guy comes and puts all the three unders out.

"But that's golf. You add up the numbers and bow out gracefully, that's the way it goes."

After missing the cut in Greensboro in April, Coughlan didn't get his final start until the Buick Open last month where he rubbed shoulders with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

As an added pressure he knew he had to make the cut just to guarantee himself Buy.com golf for the rest of the season.

"I had to finish first or second to regain my card or at worst make the cut. If I didn't make the cut I had no exemption on the Buy.com because I had to make 2,000 dollars to make the money I needed to be 200th. The guys from 150th to 200th place at least get Buy.com status.

"But I was comfortable out there with Tiger and Mickelson. I was in good shape after a couple of rounds but there wasn't much steam in the engine on Sunday."

A cheque for $7,331 for 53rd place eased the pain of a final round 73 and gave Coughlan Buy.com status, the minimum he needed.

Now the former Walker Cup player is facing another battle. He has six more Buy.com events left to get into the Top 60 in the Buy.com rankings and make sure of an exemption on that tour next year.

If he fails he will have to go through the gruelling PGA qualifying school for the fourth time.

It's all a far cry from late 1998 when Coughlan won his tour card on both the PGA and European Tours ­ an incredible feat.

"I always look back at '98 and I think what might have happened if I had played on the European Tour that year. But I said why not go for the top of the mountain.

"I've realised now after five years how mental it is. It's an understanding of your own ability and playing rather than thinking about mechanics.

"Every time you tee it up it's a chance to win. Play for the moment."

Coughlan is just waiting for his moment to come along.

Golf Shorts
(Vets)
Veterans Des Smyth and Christy O'Connor Jnr can still rake in the cash in the $3 million UBS Warburg Cup.

Drogheda favourite Des, 49, pocketed a cool $100,000 as a captain's pick for Gary Player as the USA beat the rest of the World last year.

But there are still two places up for grabs for the match at Sea Island in Georgia from November 15-17.

Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Sam Torrance, Eduardo Romero, Isao Aoki, Rodger Davis and Stewart Ginn have all been named in the Rest of the World side.

Unbeaten last year, Smyth is a favourite to get the last invite for a player aged 40 ­ 49 while O'Connor Jnr can still make grab one of the spots reserved for the top two European Senior Order of Merit.

Junior is third in the money list, ¤26,000 behind England's Denis Durnian.

(Home)
Ireland will be relying on the rookies when the men's Home Internationals tee off in Wales on Wednesday.

Big things are expected from debut boys John McGinn, Gareth Maybin, Darren Crowe, Sean McTernan and Padraig Dooley in the showdown at Royal St. David's.

Veterans Ken Kearney and Noel Fox, South of Ireland champion Colm Moriarty and West of Ireland kingpin Stuart Paul backbone the side.

(Big D)
Fact. Darren Clarke has won more in 12 seasons on the European Tour than Des Smyth, Eamonn Darcy and Philip Walton in a combined 80 seasons. Big Daz has banked ¤9,915,980 to just ¤6,953,670 for the other three.

Only Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer have won more money than the Dungannon man.

(Graeme)
Portrush kid Graeme McDowell was in good company when he won his debut pro event in Sweden last month.

So far this year there have been 14 first time winners but McDowell was also named Asprey Golfer of the Month for August for his achievement.

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© Brian Keogh 2003

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